


Written in the Stars

by shadowsteed15



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 11:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11356137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowsteed15/pseuds/shadowsteed15
Summary: When Davy Jones found an injured horse lying upon a beach in the middle of nowhere, little did he know that by saving her life, he would change the course of not only his fate, but the fate of others as well. Follow the tale of a creature long away from home, whose story was written deep in the Caribbean seas and whose presence has touched the lives of all she met along the way...





	1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful, sunny morning in the Caribbean Sea, a quiet one that was hardly ever disturbed even by a cry of a lonely seagull flying in the sky. The sea was calm under the slowly rising sun, only the gentle ripples in the water indicating that it wasn't, in fact, a giant mirror, stretching far away in the horizon. With no proper land visible it seemed endless, a great mass of dark grayish blue water hiding within it it's secrets and mysteries.

Suddenly though, out of nowhere, something appeared in the distance. A shape of a ship. You might not be able to recognise it without a spyglass, but as the ship came closer, there was no doubt as to it's identity. It could have been beautiful at one time, and for some, perhaps, it still was, but seeing it like this, floating on the sea, half rotting and covered with seaweed, it was truly a disconcerting sight. The Flying Dutchman. This nightmare of a ship who filled the dreams of thousands of sailors with dread, along with her fearsome captain, who was, speaking of him, standing on the deck at this very moment.

He was, in every bit, the same as his ship, frightening, yet strangely graceful in his appearance. The great hat, signifying that he truly was a captain, told tales about the man he must have been once, and his bright, blue eyes that never quite lost their sadness even when he was angry, reflected the endless depths of his tragic life. This was Davy Jones, as he always will be. His tentacles, which cascaded around his head, forming a strange caricature of a beard, were twitching slightly as their owner looked over the silent waters impatiently.

He wasn't very lucky these past few days, and he was growing restless, as was his crew. It was as if the sea itself has decided to be merciful, or rather, to mock him with it's refusal to grant him a single unfortunate ship to cross his path, or at least one tragedy he could take an advantage of. He could always feel them of course, the pain and the dying screams of the sailors as their ships and their lives were destroyed by whatever misfortune happened to them on these treacherous seas. These feelings have dulled over the years since he refused to acknowledge them, but he never allowed it completely, for in the following decades it always told him clearly just where to search for his next prey. This past week however, the sea was silent.

Wordlessly, he ordered his men to continue in their current direction, and he turned, ready to return to his cabin, when something caught his attention. A short distance away from the ship they were passing a small, sandy island, with something as white as the snow lying on the shore. Upon closer inspection, he found out, much to his surprise, that it was in fact a white horse. The creature was quite beautiful, with it's long, silvery mane pooling around it's flanks, but it was clear that there was something very wrong with it. The animal was obviously unconscious, but it's body was shaking with what was probably some kind of sickness.

He stood there for a while, watching it, and then he ordered his men to step onto the shore. The sharkman, Maccus, was the first one to reach the horse, and as he crouched in front of it, he roughly turned the creature onto it's other side. Then, a huge gaping wound that looked suspiciously like one made by a bullet was revealed to them, and it didn't look well, probably infected by the look of it's reddened edges.

His first instinct was to just shoot the horse and be done with it, but as he looked at it's dying, pitiful form, he felt a strange feeling inside him that just wouldn't let go. It felt as if the creature was somehow… kindred to him, and he couldn't bring himself to kill it. So instead, shaking his head in his confusion, he told the crew to lift the horse and bring her, as it was indeed a mare, onto the ship. They were surprised to say the least, but they obeyed as always. They laid her below one of the masts, making her at least a bit comfortable with a bunch of old cloths they found somewhere in the lower deck.

It was the captain himself who later found himself taking care of the injured animal. He still didn't know what exactly made him do it, but for some reason, he wanted to keep this creature alive. Even from his old life, he knew how to mix all the different manner of sea flora that, fortunately, grew freely around his ship, in order to create powerful medicine. That talent used to save lives of his crew many times, back when he was still but a captain of a merchant vessel. Now, it was going to save the life of this horse.

Several minutes ago, he had removed the bullet that was, in fact, still lodged in the creature's shoulder, and he was sure glad that the pain kept her unconscious for the procedure. Now, using a piece of cloth, he gently applied the healing salve onto the wound with one of his longest tentacles. He couldn't have noticed that of course, but as he looked at the animal before him, the sullen look in his eyes softened slightly, as new and yet old memories surfaced in his mind, memories of his childhood long before he found his true calling as a sailor, and the farm where he would spend his time taking care of his father's animals. He didn't know how he could still remember that, after all this time, but now, alone with his memories, he remembered them fondly. He stayed like this, lost in thought, for a little while longer, but then he shook his head and stood up, once more the captain of the Dutchman. His heavy footsteps sounded in the silence of the ship as he left, but, unknown to him, his every move was now being followed by a pair of dark, brown eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

It was well into the night when she opened her eyes again, woken up by the most haunting, yet the most beautiful of sounds she has ever heard. As she looked around herself to inspect her surroundings, realising she was on a ship, and her eyes widened in surprise as the light of the moon above her revealed the ship in all it's strange and terrifying detail. Then her thoughts were once more captured by the music she heard and she perked her ears up trying to discern what it was. Someone on this ship was playing an organ.

Her body felt sore from lying on the ground from what felt like several days, and so, placing one foot next to the other she tried to stand up, but as soon as she did, fire erupted in her left shoulder and she laid back down, screaming in pain. Immediately, the music stopped, and a few seconds later she felt many eyes on her as the crew came to take a look at their guest.

Deep in his quarters, captain Davy Jones was once again playing away on his organ, immersing himself in the music as he did so. It was a song that wouldn't leave anyone unmoved by it's melody, a song filled with sadness and the pain of a broken heart. The deep voice of the organ was getting higher and higher as he pressed the keys with more and more fervour, all of his cephalopod appendages together creating a cacophony of overwhelming sounds that were to be heard across the seas like a storm.

Suddenly though, his play has been disturbed by a totally different sound, a high-pitched, painful sound filled with a pain of more immediate concern, one that he knew he should probably take care of immediately, lest the crew might do something stupid and entirely unnecessary in his absence. And so he raised from his seat and made his way to the deck, pushing his way through the crowd of gaping sailors.

She stared at them, pressing herself slightly against the wet wooden railing, their curious and not-so-friendly stares making her uncomfortable, and she jerked her head back when one of them tried to touch her, neighing in warning and snapping her teeth, nearly biting his fingers. He was one of the more human of the group, with half of his face covered with pufferfish spines. With his hand narrowly escaping being mashed by horse teeth, he angrily took his sword and aimed it straight at her neck when a voice announced loudly above their heads.

"What in the blazes is going on-uh?" her head snapped up as the crew made their way for their captain to pass through, a man she found to be the most fascinating of them all. His eyes fell on her and she lowered her head, pawing the hardwood floor with a hoof. She remembered him from her brief moment of consciousness before, and she remembered the kindness with which he dressed her wound, but now there was only a hard look in his eyes as he stood there, once more, as the devil of the sea. The man who threatened her, Koleniko was his name, as she learned later, sheathed his weapon again and turned towards his captain.

"I think we should just threw her of the ship." he said. "She ain't gonna be nothing but trouble."

"Or we could just eat her." another of them said hopefully, and many others of them nodded in an obvious agreement with that idea. But the captain simply shook his head and barked: "Nobody is gonna hurt this animal, is that clear? She is to stay on the ship for now, until her wounds heal, and while we wait we make our way to the nearest port where we'll dispatch her as close to a civilised shore as possible. Understood-uh?"

He didn't even wait for them to answer his question as he walked, or rather, limped over to the mare. Surprisingly enough, she seemed to calm down at his approach, as if she was unfazed by his appearance, but her wide, dark eyes kept staring into his. He looked over her injury and he knew that it would still take some time before she will be able to move without problem, which meant that the Dutchman would not be able to submerge with her on board, and so the ship will move only slowly towards it's destination, as the Dutchman wasn't a very fast vessel. Then again, it would give their temporary guest a time to recover, before he'll have to get rid of her.

As he made his way back to his quarters, the figure of his first mate fell into step next to him. "Captain, why have we taken that miserable beast upon the ship? She'll be slowing us down. Shouldn't we be chasing after some pirate scum or somethin'?" he questioned lightly, obviously trying not to sound too bold in his curiosity, but the captain just waved him off with his claw, as he slowly filled his pipe and placed it in his mouth, puffing out a bit of smoke. "I know what I'm doing-ah. Perhaps she'll bring us some good fortune." he said, laughing harshly. "Carry on with your duties and stop asking questions, she'll be out of our hair in a few days-ah." And with that, he vanished through the wall of his ship, leaving the crew alone with the horse.

In the next few days, the young mare was recovering on board of the Flying Dutchman. She has been assigned a place on the ship, one that was better covered against the occasional storm. As it turned out feeding her was not a problem, as soon as she was able to move without feeling pain, she began to happily munch on the nearest ocean greenery growing all around her on the ship's walls.

She was healing surprisingly fast too. On the fifth day she was already strong enough to stand and walk around the deck a bit, though she was mostly just standing on her spot, watching the crew from afar. And it was on this day when the Flying Dutchman finally stumbled upon a ship. Not a pirate ship, but a simple merchant vessel, but still, it was enough for the Dutchman, and certainly enough for the Kraken.

The sun was just starting to set. Davy Jones stood on the deck, letting the soft, gentle breeze blow into his face, when an excited call came from the ship's crow's nest. They have spotted a ship. It was a small, yet rather stocky ship, built for defence rather than speed, but for the captain and his little pet it was still an easy target.

On his command, the crew jumped to their work immediately and soon, the sounds of the terrified screams and the terrible creaking of their soon to be destroyed ship reached the captain's ears as the Kraken set out towards his prey. It only took minutes before the ship was nothing more but a pile of wooden wreckage, and the Dutchman sailed in lazily to pick up what was left to be picked, two men and a young boy, probably a son of one of those two, and the crew gathered around them as they were kneeling by the ship's railing, awaiting their fate.

Out of her little corner, the white mare watched all that has happened with curiosity, and now that it was over she stepped closer to see what the fisherman caught in his nets. The clopping of her hooves was a surprise for everybody, as the crew forgot momentarily about her presence on the ship, and the captives surely must have thought they were hallucinating to see such a creature on a ship like this.

The mare came closer to the nearest man, a still rather young sailor with dark hair and tanned skin of a man who spend a lot of time in the sun, and lowered her head to look at him. In the distance, the sound of the captain's approach could be heard, but he stopped as he, like the rest of the crew, stared and waited for what was going to happen next. The man was obviously terrified, but he still lifted his hand carefully and placed it on the horse's nose, stroking it. He was looking into the animal's eyes and for a few seconds, nothing moved.

And then, in a moment when nobody could see, something changed in those deep, dark orbs that stared deep into the sailor's soul. As the creature faced away from the crew, nobody knew what it was, but the man saw it and it made him absolutely mad with fear. Instantly, he jumped to his feet and used the last bit of strength he had left in his body to slip through an opening in the crew crowding around them, running to the opposite side of the ship.

To everyone's even greater surprise, as soon as the man began running, the mare took off right after him, neighing as if she was spawned directly from hell itself, and even though she was still moving a little stiffly, he injury slowing her down, she still managed to gain on him rather quickly. The man ran towards the railing, obviously intending to rather jump to his death himself than staying here, but the horse behind him would have none of it. She leaped high into the air, aiming to stop him by blocking his path, but as her feet touched the ground again, her injured leg could no longer support her weight and it buckled beneath her, sending her tumbling into the ocean below.

The man up on the ship stopped in the shock of the situation and was quickly caught, and all the crew that didn't have to watch over the other prisoners now looked over the railing and watched as the quickly tiring animal tried to swim in the current, barely keeping her head above the water.

Suddenly though, something incredible happened. As if a land magically appeared beneath her, the horse suddenly stopped struggling, and soon everyone could see why as several thick, strong tentacles wrapped around her and lifted her above the surface. When the Kraken's huge head appeared above the water as well, everyone expected him to eat the animal, but instead, he gently set back onto the deck, keeping one tentacle wrapped around her torso steadily until he was sure she could walk on her own. As soon as she was free, she turned around and neighed as a thank you, and from the darkness below the ship the beast answered with a deep rumble.

The scene they just witnessed was so surreal that nobody on the ship was able to move for a few more minutes, before the captain's voice suddenly brought them out of their trance. "Alright, you lazy rats, the show's over, now back to your work-uh." he shouted and the ship immediately woke up, everything returning to normal. At the end, they didn't keep the sailors, as all of them, for some reason chose to rather face the face the watery grave than finding a new place on the Dutchman. The captain thought it to be a shame for sure, but it didn't strike him as suspicious at that time, though everyone was now curious about their equine passenger. When they asked about it though, he couldn't give them an answer. He wasn't yet sure what to think of her, and so for now he simply intended to watch her to see what more will be revealed about her in time. But it was now very clear to him that there was more, much more about her that met the eye.


	3. Chapter 3

I began to write this personal account so you, dear reader, would know first hand of how my story actually began, and where was I before these events as it is important for you to understand them properly. I lived for a long time now, and over the course of history I found myself a witness to many important things, though only a few will ever know they happened.

I was, originally, born in Britain, Scotland to be precise. For the sake of the story, I won't tell you much about me for now, but you'll all that soon enough. I used to live by this beautiful lake up a river, but that was only before people discovered a rather rich coal deposit in the area and the lake was eventually destroyed to make way for new houses to be buildt. I had to find a new home and that was when I discovered the sea. I fell in love as I stood there, breathing the salted air and looking over the blue horison for the first time.

How I ended up here, in the Caribbean, that is of course another story. The answer was a man of course, or rather, the one I called my mate. I met him the same day I met the sea. He was a traveler, and he loved this place very much, and as if knowing that I too would be happy here, this was the place he decided to show me first. While he wanted to continue on, however, I decided to stay, and both being the rather solitary creatures we were, we agreed on meeting once in a while once he came back to these shores, and for a while, it truly worked, until one day he left, and I never saw him again. I never knew what happened to him, but the sea soon healed any sadness in my heart.

Finding a lonely island, I lived on my own for a while then. Not many people came here, mostly it was smuggler's, who didn't bother as long as I didn't bother them, which I didn't, so they were hardly even aware of my presence. And I didn't leave the place very often either, so my life was a rather calm one, until that faithful day, when that ship stopped near the island and pushed my destiny in a new direction.


	4. Chapter 4

In the following days, the captain watched their unusual guest on board rather carefully. The horse now kept mostly to herself, stepping away immediately as soon as they managed to hunt down a ship, it was strange, as if she knew something went wrong because of her last time, and so the captain was happy to have a few new sailors in his grasp. His men ignored her now mostly, casting barely anything but a mere glance her way as they passed her, but Davy Jones noticed that there was one particular member of his crew that has taken a liking to her, and that was, surprisingly, the Kraken.

During the times when the beast was awake and the ship was on a move, the Kraken would often push his tentacles up the ship's side, and every time she would come over and lightly start poking them with her nose and neigh in excitement when he would playfully poke her back. Yes, they were indeed playing together, and for his life the captain couldn't understand how that was possible.

The same thing was happening at the very moment and he watched in fascination as the two so vastly different creatures romped and froliced together, with the white horse jumping around, gently nipping at the Kraken's slimy appendages as he tugged at her mane and tail. The creature look elegant and graceful even in what she was currently doing and it was apparent to the captain that she was growing stronger, which also meant that the time come for her to finally leave their ship. To his amazement, the captain realised that he wasn't as glad that she would go as he expected. She brought a sort of life to the ship that wasn't here before, and it was certainly amusing to watch her, but in order for things to go to the way they were, they needed to let her go.

And so, after two days, when they finally found a suitable inhabited piece of land, they sailed as close to the shore as possible, approaching from the other side of the island to avoid being spotted, and then Davy Jones ordered Maccus and Clanker to and lead the horse through the jungle into a nearby town. Neither of them wanted to go and she was visibly unwilling to leave the ship as well, but, at the end, they all obeyed the captain's raised voice.

Maccus placed an old rope around the mare's neck and led her off the ship. As soon as the water touched her hooves, she got a bit of a spring back in her step, but as she stepped on the sandy beach and under the canopy of the first trees, the mare twisted her long neck to glance at the standing on the deck of the ship, and neighed in what, to the captain, sounded remarkably like gratitude.

The forest was dense in this part of the island, and it was difficult to walk through it, so the two crew members were glad when the horse suddenly took the lead and made them a way through the greenery with her much larger body. Maccus has remembered the general direction of the town, and so, wanting to return to the ship as soon as possible he pulled at the rope to get her to move quicker. and so he was quite frustrated when the mare suddenly stopped and looked around, and then started to walk through the trees in the very opposite direction than they were headed. She turned to look at them when they refused to follow her, and after a while of playing tug-of-war with them, she tugged at the rope impatiently, and then again and again, and before they could realise what was happening, she jerked her head one last time, and with that one powerful yank the old rope snapped and the mare jumped and ran forward, bucking like a young foal. The two looked at each other in exasperation and then ran after her, but strangely though, it didn't seem like she was running from them, but she slowed down to a pace they could follow, as if she was actually leading them somewhere.

They arrived at a small clearing, where she stopped and, keeping her eyes on them wearily, she started walking around, sniffing and pawing the ground, until she gave a short, victorious cry, and looked at them expectantly. They walked closer and she pawed the ground in front of her again, giving them a clear signal as to what she wanted them to do. Actually intrigued now, they went to dig in the soil with their hands, as they didn't have a shovel, and their curiosity was picked when, after a while, they hit the wooden surface of a chest. Taking it out of the ground, they found that the wood that held the lock in it's place has already rotten away, and so it was easy for them to get inside, and they gasped as they saw the chest filled with a load a gold coins and shiny gemstones. And as they started to rummage through the riches, they heard a loud snort and a neigh, and when they looked up, the horse was gone, as if she disappeared into thin air.

They stood, and picked up the chest, and left to go back to their ship that would vanish with them back to the sea. They would tell their captain that they had led the mare to the town and left her there, and make up a story as to how they found the treasure on their way, and the whole story with the strange horse will be forgotten. Little did they know that the for them, this short story was only the beginning of a much bigger one.


	5. Chapter 5

Eleven years later...

The sea and the sky above it were slowly darkening as night and a storm were swiftly approaching, and the small merchant ship called The Golden Tench was rocking on the still rather soft waves. The men on board were experienced sailors, and so there was no fear among the crew whether or not they were going to survive the coming weather. The winds were picking up as the crew made their last preparations against the storm. One of them, a sailor by the name of Joshua Rodrickson, a young man who barely started his adventures on the sea several years ago, stood by the railing and watched the dark, swirling waters below, when suddenly, something caught his attention. A strange shadow moving in the water. Turning away for just a second he called to his friend, but when he looked back to show him what he saw, there was nothing. However, from the other side of the ship came a terrified scream, as more men began seeing things in the depths. Now the captain himself descended from his perch at the wheel to have a look at what was upsetting his men. Nothing happened at first, but as he watched, he saw a mass of something black beneath the waves as something began to rise towards the surface. He squinted his eyes and as he looked, a head emerged from the water and everyone gasped, frozen in fear at the sight of the two glowing green eyes staring back at them. Then rain started falling gently from the sky. And then all hell broke loose.

The creature, whatever it was, jumped from the water, reaching incredible height with one flip of its large, powerful fin at the end of its tail.. As it lifted itself from the water, those who had better eyes could see the front of its huge, muscled body as it shot forward with its long neck and grabbed the nearest sailor into its jaws, and fell, with him screaming and thrashing helplessly back into the sea. In terror, the other men backed away to the other side of the ship, when suddenly more of these creatures emerged from the murky depths and one by one they picked the crew and vanished with them back in the waters as if they were never there in the first place.

One of them jumped high, high above the ground and landed on the deck, where immediately it turned its head, looking around as it searched for its prey. This one was bigger than the others, as far as Joshua could tell, and at the present he had the misfortune of being spotted by sad beast, as those huge, glowing eyes found his. A deep, proud neighing sound was heard in the darkness as the monster began moving towards him. He noticed that it only had front legs to move on land, but that didn't seem to make it any less fast than it was in the water. With a shaky hand he pulled out his sword and the creature roared in anger, shaking its head, flapping its long, dark, wet mane before it attacked.

He swung his sword as it hurled itself forward, and with luck he managed to slice its face slightly, but he could see that he only made it angrier than before. He looked at the creature with its long snout and sharp teeth ready to strike and he ran, hearing the beast behind him as it followed. But then, he saw as another sailor came running from the opposite direction, and, passing by him, he didn't see the creature's approach, not before he ran straight into its jaws. The beast caught the man by the neck and flung him into the sea, then, with a giant leap it followed after him, never to be seen again. And with that, it was all gone, along with most of the crew, including the captain.

He was about to speak, to see how many were still left, when the ship rocked suddenly and then a terrible creaking sound rang out from below. One of the remaining sailors screamed, but it was too late, as the ship ran into the rocks nobody noticed in the chaos. And as the ship's hull smashed into one of the reefs that were sticking out of the water, Joshua knew that he was most certainly not going to survive this.

The Black Pearl sailed swiftly through the water. It was a truly beautiful sight to behold, even in such a weather, yet the atmosphere on the ship was rather grim. Jack Sparrow knew he was being hunted, and the sea beneath him, even those very planks he stood upon seemed to glare at him in a most unfriendly way. In fact, he was sure he could see their eyes sometimes. It could just be the rum though, but he was sure he saw some eyes in the water just a moment ago. He shook his head and looked towards the front of the ship, and he saw William Turner, looking rather thoughtful. Everything now would depend on that boy and whether or not he'll figure out what to do… and not end up doing something entirely stupid as he always did.

A strange group of rocks suddenly appeared before them. A shipwreck sat on top of them, torn to pieces by the misfortunate event it has been though. The sea around them was quiet, and the place seemed deserted, but one should always remember not to rely on first appearances, for they can be very deceptive. As Will Turner left the ship without having a single clue what he was going to get himself into, they kept looking around nervously trying to be as quiet as possible, pretending that the ship wasn't even here.

Not far away from them, Will Turner was trying to search through the wreckage that he was led to believe was the Flying Dutchman, belonging to the terrifying captain Davy Jones, but this was hardly more than a few floating planks with a few half-mad, half-dead sailors clinging to them. He couldn't get anything out of these men except for their constant muttering about about monsters and sea demons, and he was starting to get the feeling that there was something very wrong. And that's when that… monstrosity of a ship crashed through the water, with waterfalls falling from its ancient sails and the crashing waves slowly settling around its rotting, brownish green hull. He stared as the ship came closer, and then he turned around, as he could swear he could hear something, a whisper in the dark, but right then, out of nowhere, the crew of the Flying Dutchman appeared, coming to collect the survivors. And though Will Turner was a good fighter, there were simply too many of them to count, and he was quickly incapacitated and taken on their own ship, where they were all now awaiting what was going to happen next.

What they didn't know however, is that they were being watched, for while the crew was busy herding and lining up the prisoners for the captain to inspect, a small figure of a young girl climbed the ship's side, sneaking on board of the Flying Dutchman. Carefully, she climbed up into the crow's nest and from her safe perch she watched as things were unfolding before her eyes that were easily able to see through the darkness. She observed the shaking forms of the terrified men below and the young man that seemed very out of place here where everything looked like it was about to fall apart soon. She was curious, and suspicious about that one, and she watched him warily, up until the moment when the captain made an entrance to the deck. Davy Jones walked proudly to the group of captives and brought himself to the eye level of one of them, a bloodied, quivering wreck of a man, lighting up his pipe and placing it in his mouth with enjoyment, smoke coming out as he spoke to the sailor softly. "Do you fear death?" he said, and she found herself captivated by the sound of his voice, such a rich tone with that strange, yet fascinating accent. "Do you fear that dark abyss? All your deeds laid bare, all your sins punished…" she chuckled lightly as the last word sounded as if he swallowed a barnacle while saying it, and she immediately covered her mouth hoping nobody heard her.

She watched as another man, a religious type by the looks of it, interrupted the captain's grand speech, and was quickly disposed of as he expressed his wish to die rather than serving the devil, and the captain turned to finish what he started, adding another unfortunate soul to his ship's collection. But then he turned towards the young man and she leaned forward over the railing to see better. The captain was very confused by the boy's presence on his ship, until the name of Jack Sparrow was mentioned, and then the captain turned, and his eyes fell straight upon the strange black ship that was hiding just out of sight. And then he vanished, just like that, into thin air, and the quick movement startled her, so much that she nearly fell down from the crow's nest, catching a thick rope just in time to steady herself. However, as she did, the tackle at the end of the rope rattled quite loudly and as she looked down, she found several members of the Dutchman's crew staring right back at her and their expressions were quite scary. She quickly jumped down and ran, but they were faster than they looked, and in a moment she felt a hand tightening around her waist, and a sword pressed to her throat. She glared at the fishman holding the blade, looking as if she wanted to fight, but then she sighed and allowed herself to be led away.

Davy Jones returned to his ship and everyone could see what a foul mood he was in. To think that the rascal Jack Sparrow would actually try to talk his way out of a debt that he was in every right to collect. That he would try to buy his way out of it. Jack Sparrow brought this on himself when he made that deal with him all those years ago, and while it was surely unfortunate for him to have his time wasted like that, it was none but his own fault that he couldn't deal with his rebellious first mate, or prevent the mutiny in the first place. For what kind of incompetent captain must he have been if his own crew agreed to turn against him at all? And he actually has the nerve to use it as an argument? But never mind, he thought. There was no way the pirate could collect so many wretched souls in such a short time, and he knew that they both knew it. He was Davy Jones, he had an eternity to wait for his prey and that was really all he needed to do for now. In three days time, alive or dead, Jack Sparrow will be his no matter what he tries to do. But for now, the captain of this ship was tired, he wanted to play and he wanted to sleep.

But as he walked back onto his own deck with the majority of his crew, one of those who remained on the Dutchman approached him. "What is it?" he barked, and the man pointed one hand to the back of the ship where he saw a young girl sitting on the deck being held down at sword-point, and he made his way over there to look at her. She was a rather pretty thing, looking barely over twenty-five, with pale skin and deep brown eyes with a slight tinge of gray in them, long hair flowing over her shoulders being a beautiful shade of silvery gray that almost gleamed in the darkness of the ship. She was dressed in simple grey trousers and white shirt with grey west hanging over it. Around her neck however, there was a simple, yet beautiful silver necklace formed of tiny stars hanging from a fine, delicate chain.

He stared at her for a minute, and then he turned to the man who led him here. "What is this-uh?" he asked. "We found her on the ship, captain. She was hiding in the crow's nest."

"Was she now?" the captain said, turning back to her and crouching slightly so he could take a better look at her. "And who might you be, yer little troublemaker, huh? Were you perhaps a part of that ruined vessel?" At that, the girl's eyes brightened for some reason and she shook her head, looking at the captain with a strange look in her eyes that he couldn't quite read, and he was slightly unnerved by this. "So who are you then? How did you get on my ship-uh?" She stopped smiling as if sensing she was making him uncomfortable, and she lovered her eyes to the ground. "You would hardly believe if I told you now, captain." she answered and he growled, rising to his full height. "I don't have time for games, girl." he snapped and turned to his first mate, who stood behind him faithfully as always. "Put her in the brig. Perhaps a day or two down there would make her more willing to talk. And as for this whelp, show him around-uh. He'll be here with us for a while." he mocked before walking away, and as several cold hands grasped her shoulders and hauled her to her feet, the young girl raised her eyes to look at the boy as he was lead away by the laughing crew of the Flying Dutchman.


	6. Chapter 6

The first thing she noticed about the Flying Dutchman's brig was that it was a very wet place, as was the rest of the ship. Now for her, of course, that wouldn't be such a problem if it also wasn't very cold. Being stuck here in a cell where there really wasn't that much space to move wasn't at all pleasant, and it was difficult for her to sleep here, not mentioning the fact that she was beginning to get hungry. It was now her second day here and the captain hasn't come to question her yet, obviously trying to soften her up as he promised. She thought that maybe coming here wasn't such a good decision after all, but she couldn't resist, and now she would somehow have to deal with the consequences.

But as she sat in her cell, on the least wet spot she could possibly find, she, to her great surprise, got a visitor of an entirely different sort. The boy. He came down the stairs, silently as a thief, and stepped closer to the bars. He was a pretty young man, she supposed, though he was a little too young and a little too pretty for her own tastes. She however, noticed that he didn't look very well. He walked a bit stiffly, as if his back hurt, and she cocked her head to the side, wondering whether he's done something to anger the captain already.

"What happened to you?" she asked gently, as he stood in front of her cell, and Will Turner studied the young girl before him carefully. She stared at him with a concerned look on her face, but there was something very unnerving about her eyes, and he wasn't sure what to make of this. "I am fine." he replied at last. "Just a bit of this ship's hospitality. I've met someone here I didn't expect to meet."

"Who are you?" she asked. "My name is William Turner." he replied and she nodded in understanding. "Turner? Yes, I do remember hearing that name spoken on this ship. Is he your… father perhaps?"

"Yes, yes he is. He's slave on this ship like everybody else. But the question is, who are you? How did you get here?" She didn't answer his question immediately, instead, she looked in his eyes, her own eyes narrowed, as if she was looking for something that would confirm her whether she can trust him or not. Then she turned her head slightly to the side, still wearing that same expression, as if she was trying to remember something. After a while, she sighed however, and shook her head. "I am sorry mr. Turner, but… I don't seem to recall how I got here on this ship. I remember waking up in the water, but nothing before, perhaps I really was on that ship they mentioned, but I really don't know. I swam to the nearest thing I saw, which was, regrettably, this ship. When I saw the monsters on board, I tried to hide the best I could, but it didn't really worked out well, as you see, and now I'm here a prisoner as you."

She lowered her eyes to the ground in sadness, and he looked at her with sympathy, though there was something in the back of his head that kept nagging at him that she wasn't telling the truth, or at least not the whole truth. But he still smiled at her when she looked up. "I am sorry for you plight miss. But I can assure you, I'm not planning to stay on this ship. I came here for only one thing, and when I get it, I will return here for you and we will make our escape." He looked up and down to inspect the bars and the lock and nodded. "Yes, this won't be difficult to open, I am a blacksmith by trade, at least I used to be." He said, and she flashed him a smile, her eyes filled with gratitude and joy. "Thank you mr. Turner, I really can't thank you enough."

"Don't thank me yet. Just be ready by midnight." he waved it off as his voice returned to his previous, serious tone. "My father will prepare a boat for us, but we will have to move quickly." She nodded and he moved to walk away, but as he climbed the stairs leading up from the brig, he suddenly heard her voice again, a soft, melodious tone, she was singing, an old song that was strangely fitting for the atmosphere on this cursed ship.

_A sailor's life, it is a merry life._

_He robs young girls of their hearts' delight,_

_Leaving them behind to weep and mourn,_

_They never know when they will return…_

She kept singing, and he shook her head, as he went back to his duties with haste, not caring to be seen by the bosun while slacking. A strange girl this one was. She didn't seem to be so overly troubled by being on this ship as she tried to convince him, and he was trying to decide if she was stupid or just naive. Shaking his head again, he instead decided to concentrate on the task ahead, for tonight he was going to take the key from the captain, and leave to find the chest to free his father from this floating hell.

The night has fallen on the Dutchman, and as the whole ship was slowly falling asleep, only a few of the crewmen still finishing their remaining duties, and the lonely watchman on the deck, the ship went still for the night, the waves around her for once calm and tranquil. Will Turner stood hidden in the shadows, trying to avoid anyone who might still pass him on the deck, and waited. Finally, after two hours of standing in the cold night, he heard that infernal organ's play stop and slowly, he sneaked towards the captain's cabin. He looked around for any watching eyes, and then opened the door carefully, stepping inside. He walked deeper into the room, careful not to make a single creak, and he saw the captain sleeping soundly in front of his giant musical instrument, the tentacles hanging unmoving as he snored softly. Bracing his nerves against what he had to do, he set out to his work.

A few minutes later he walked out of the cabin, the key hanging on his neck as he went back to the boats where his father was already waiting, lowering one into the water. But as he walked closer to meet him, there was a deep, enraged roar to his right, and the sound of something heavy trampling on the wooden floor, before out of a darkness a monstrous black creature with glowing green eyes jumped towards him and smashed him against the railing, knocking the air out of him. He slid down the railing, dazed, as the creature towered over him, raising its head suddenly and baring a set of short, but very sharp teeth. Suddenly, there was a shout as Bill Turner came running over with a sword drawn to help his son, and the creature turned her head to glare at him with her eyes glowing wild, stopping him immediately. It then proceeded to lower its head and with one tug it removed the key from the boy's neck, and, placing it on the ground next to them, it grabbed him by the collar and with a proud snort it threw him over into the sea. Bill Turner yelled for his son and ran to the railing to look into the water and he was relieved to see he was alright and was currently swimming towards the boat. But as the old man turned around to see where the creature went, he saw that it was gone, and so was the key.

The next morning, everyone who was on the Dutchman surely wished they could be somewhere else. For the captain was beside himself with rage. Not that something like this was a rare occurrence, the captain's temper was as unpredictable as a storm. But today it was worse then they ever saw him, he was stomping around the deck, handing out punishments for free, with the much too willing assistance of his bosun. Not only was the key missing, but his newest charge was gone too, along with the girl they kept in the brig. The whole crew was lined up and questioned until he found the one who stood watch that night, but when it turned out it was Bill Turner who let his son off the ship, the punishment for the poor man was worse then any whipping he could have possibly endured.

"You wretched, insolent…" Jones bellowed as he put his claw around Bootstrap's neck, and it took him all his will to not just snap it right then and there. It wouldn't kill the man of course, but he surely wouldn't be very fond of moving his head for a time. "You think yourself entitled to undermine my authority, my will, on this very ship? I am the master of these seas-uh. I decide who live and die, and you, you will watch as I sentence your beloved son to death! Bosun?!" he turned harshly to the fish-like sailor to his right, who fought the urge to cower beneath his scorching gaze. "How is our course-uh?"

"The ship we've been tracking is now less than an hour before us, captain, and we're gaining on her steadily." he said, not looking in the captain's eyes. "Well," the captain continued, turned back to Bootstrap as he released his neck and the man touched it lightly, feeling the pain those sharp edges caused. "You will remember who your soul belongs to, mr. Turner. You made a deal with me and there's nothing that can help you escape it. Your son will learn that the hard way for taking is mine."

"Do you mean this?" a voice suddenly said, and Jones, snapping his head in its direction stared dumbfounded at the young girl that walked confidently along the deck towards them, not in the least minding his enraged expression. And in her hand, she held his key, looking rather pleased with herself as she stopped a few meters away. At least until he recovered from the inicial shock of her unexpected entrance and yelled. "Seize her." As two of his men moved forward to do so, she shot them a warning look and they stopped, something in her eyes telling them that they should. Her whole posture was different now from what they've seen before, she was standing before them proudly, without any fear, staring straight into the captain's eyes. Then, she relaxed slightly, took a step forward and handed the key to the captain, who silently took it into his tentacled hand. She bowed to him slightly and stepped back again. "I apologize captain, I snapped the cord when I was taking it from the little thief."

As she said that, Bill Turner's eyes widened as he looked at her, and a single, terrified word escaped his lips. "You?!" The captain, not knowing of their previous exchange, was looking at them in a slight bewilderment. "Yes, me." she said, looking at the man she met last night seriously. "I am sorry for the way I treated you son last night, I might have been a little too angry."

She turned to the captain. "And I am sorry for causing you such confusion, captain Jones."

"Who are you?" he demanded, and she twitched at his aggressive tone slightly, then flashed him a sweet, friendly smile. "My name is Silver. Silver Brooks. But you may perhaps know me better as Silvermane. We have met before, captain." she said, still smiling, but when she saw that none of the crew was "getting it", so to speak, she sighed and shook her head. "Alright, I see it would be perhaps better if I showed you." As soon as she finished her sentence, her whole form began to glow slightly in pale, green light, and in a blink of an eye, in an event so quick they couldn't even see it, there was no longer a girl standing before them but the figure of a large, white mare with a long, silver mane, looking over them and their shocked expression, her eyes settling on the captain eventually. And as they did, she surprised them once again when she spoke, her voice almost the same, just a tad deeper then it was when she was human.

"I must ask for your forgiveness captain, for keeping this a secret. I wasn't sure why you saved me, and since I grew rather fond of this ship I didn't know whether you wouldn't throw me out if you knew I was something more than a simple lost steed." The captain moved towards her slowly, and looked over her up and down, and she shook her head in mild amusement as she saw the look on his face, before she once again fell silent, sensing the seriousness of this situation. "It's you…" he said quietly. "But… who are you? Or rather, what are you?"

"Yes, that is the question of the day, isn't it?" she said, and turned towards the sea, watching as the sun climbed higher and higher into the sky. Turning her head slightly, she saw the whole crew watching her intently, except for those who had to watch over the ship's course, and so she looked back to stare at the water below, and started her story.

"I was originally born in Britain, Scotland, to be precise. I am sure you are familiar with these shores, captain, and the myths and legends that circle around their taverns. I am one of those legends, you see. My kind doesn't often leave the safety of our old homeland, the deep lochs of the scottish highlands, and the murky waters of irish rivers, we are very solitary creatures, and often then not we would spend our whole lives in the place where we came to be. But some of us are different, more adventurous than others, and those of us who dare to go that far fall in love with the sea once we find ourselves in it. That's how I came to be here, after all." She said, as she turned now towards them once more. "But to finally answer your question, I am a kelpie, a water demon, feeding on the flesh of the unwary that come too close to my waters." The captain listened to her tale carefully, but he looked rather unconvinced as he looked at her. "Aye, I know these legends well, but those are very well just that, legends-uh. Never in my life have I seen a creature like that." She looked at him then, looked into his blue eyes with her own, dark ones, and nodded. "Well, then you are going to see one now, after all, this isn't really what I look like, captain."

With that, her form shifted once more, and when it was over, there were many gasps uttered all around the ship, as the men processed exactly what they were seeing. The creature that stood, or lied on the ground before them mostly, standing on her hooved front legs was huge, big enough to look them in the eye even in this position. She still largely resembled a horse, but her fur was now pitch black and almost seal-like, shining in the sunlight. When her hind legs once were, now was a long tail, ending with a massive fin with several other, smaller fins growing along the length of the tail. Her mane hanged in thick black knots that resembled clusters of seaweed more than the actual hair. In her open mouth they could see the tips of sharp, pointed teeth, but it was her eyes that had the biggest effect on the crew, for they glowed with an unnatural, venomous green color, and Bootstrap paled visibly as he recognised the creature that attacked his son last night.

But he wasn't the only one, as the one man they recruited two days ago stepped forward and screamed. "That's… that's one of the demons that slaughtered the men on my ship!" he yelled, and then he ran away in fear. The captain's eyes widened as he looked at the creature in front of him, and saw that the edges of her mouth were lifted in something that strongly resembled a wicked looking smile. "That wreck, that was you?" he asked, and she nodded, before answering. "Well, not just me. I was hunting with others here, and by this brilliant chance, my path crossed with your ship's again. And so…" she said, and in a moment, she turned back into her human form, smiling kindly. "I couldn't resist coming back on board. A decade ago you saved my life, and I never had a chance to tell you how grateful I am. Except for that pile of gold I found for your men, but I'm sure they didn't tell you about my involvement in that, did they?" she suddenly laughed, and turned her eyes to the two men that acted as her companions on that day. They turned their heads away, but she could still see the small smiles playing on their lips that they were trying to hide.

She then took a step to the captain, and made another bow. "Now, captain, if you would have me, I would like to stay here for a while. You saved my life all those years ago and I now wish to help you, if you'll allow me." He studied her face for a while, and nodded, satisfied when he saw the honesty in her eyes, to which she answered with a warm smile that lit up her pale face. Then suddenly, there was a call from the crew as the ship they were tracking finally came into view, and the girl named Silver turned to look at it.

"Well then, I believe we have a prey to hunt now." she said, narrowing her eyes as she smiled. "Good. I was, after all, getting quite hungry."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelpie Fact No. 1: While the legend of the kelpie originates specifically in Scotland, you can find many different "species" of water horses in many of the celtic parts of the world and Scandinavia, and they are basically very similar in nature. To name a few, while the kelpie is the most famous, the most dangerous of all water horses is said to be the Each-uisge, also from Scotland. In Scandinavia, they have a creature called bäckahästen, which actually means the brook horse in English, and it is from here that I took the surname for my character, Silver Brooks. :)

The sea around the merchant vessel that was currently harbouring one William Turner was calm, and the sun was high in the sky, making the weather the ship was sailing through rather pleasant, but Will Turner knew very well that there was a storm brewing on the horizon as he saw the Flying Dutchman looming ominously in the distance like some great mythological sea monster, and he didn't yet have any idea that was exactly what the ship was going to unleash upon them. As the captain and his crew stared at the ship with dumbfounded expressions, Will has made his way along the ship's deck to get a closer look, using the borrowed spyglass to try to see what was going on, but the Dutchman was still too far away. However, as he stood there, with his eye pressed against the lenses, he heard a soft splashing sound behind him as something climbed onto the deck, and, turning around, he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the young, grey haired girl he saw at the Flying Dutchman, and he turned to look at the ship in question, then back at her.

"How did you get off the ship? Did you manage to escape?" Despite the situation, he glanced at her apologetically. "I'm sorry I didn't come to get you. I was…"

"Attacked?" she finished for him, and he looked at her, slightly shocked, but then he looked into her eyes and saw something that wasn't there before, something hard and unforgiving. "Do not worry, I got out of that cell just fine. And I am sorry for having to say it like this, but I am, unfortunately, the creature who spoiled your brilliant plan yesterday. Nothing personal, really, I just really can't allow someone to threaten the captain's safety like that."

As he searched frantically around himself for any weapon he may find, she raised her hands slightly to assure him she didn't mean any harm. "Now mr. Turner, I did not come here to fight or to hurt, in fact I have come to offer you a deal." she said and Will Turner slowly turned, staring at her suspiciously. "What kind of deal?"

"We do not have much time, so I will be quick." she said, gesturing to the ghostly ship that was slowly approaching them. "The Kraken is going to come here soon. Now, as I understand it, you intent to free your father from his deal with Jones by any means necessary. I find that to be an incredibly noble cause, but you are very foolish if you think I would ever let you kill the captain. Davy Jones saved my life, and so it is my task now to protect his." Looking at him seriously, she took a step towards him.

"Now I am very well aware, that, even without the key, it technically shouldn't be difficult to just simply smash the chest or something with the heart still in it, so your quest still stands, but this can as well be done without unnecessary violence. And if you bring that chest to me first so I can see it is safe and undamaged, I am willing to let you use it as your bargaining chip."

"And what would I do something like that, when I can just get rid of the thing right away?" he retorted, his voice taking a sharp edge that she didn't like at all, and she stepped even closer to him, staring slightly up into his face. She was surprisingly small, but he could feel that power that emanated from her in that moment, and her anger with which she spoke.

"Because, and make no mistake, mr. Turner, the moment I tell the captain that I didn't find you here, he will set out after the chest. And since he can't step on the shore, wherever it is, he will send the crew along to retrieve it, and I will go with them, to keep an eye on things. And if something happens to the captain, I will make your life a living hell…" she stopped suddenly, as she remembered something else, something very important, and she smirked. "Though, I imagine you wouldn't want to do that anyway, as whoever kills Davy Jones will know the same hell himself."

"What… what do you mean by that?" he shouted, as she turned around to leave, and she stopped, turning her head to look at him. "Bring me that chest, mr. Turner, and I will help you free your father. And when you see your friend, Jack Sparrow, send him my regards. Tell him I'm looking forward to see him again." And with that, she climbed onto the railing, and as she was about to jump, she cocked her head to the side suddenly, as if she was listening for something, and smile spread across her lips. "It was nice meeting you, mr. Turner." she said. "But now, it is time for a feast." and she disappeared in the waves.

As soon as she was gone, Will Turner quickly climbed to the nearest mast to have a better view of what was happening. His only warning was a dark shadow in the water as the ship suddenly rocked and he was violently flung from the mast, hanging helplessly on a rope for a few seconds, before he managed to pull himself back up, and he watched, horrified, as the creature known as Kraken slowly began to destroy the ship, playing with it as if it was a toy, and devouring those it found on board. But as he watched, he could see that there was also something else swimming among the carnage, and he gasped as the caught sight of a great black fin splashing in the water before it dove beneath the waves, only for the creature to which the fin belonged to emerge from the water again, holding the body of some unfortunate sailor in his jaws. Then, in horror, William Turner watched as the creature began to eat. Unlike the Kraken, though, that just swallowed those poor men whole without having to use its teeth at all, this was a bloody job that the creature, whatever it was, was clearly enjoying, as it wallowed in the bloodied water, rolling around and tearing pieces of flesh as if it was a crocodile, never minding the giant squid whose gigantic arms were flailing all around her. It was strange, for it seemed as if the Kraken itself was mindful not to hurt the creature in the water, as whenever it was to accidentally hit it, or rather, her, with a tentacle, it would immediately stop its movement and carefully flung it in another direction.

Then, suddenly, the girl-beast below him raised her horse-like head and glanced directly up at him. Her green eyes stared into his for a second, and then she neighed loudly, a clear warning as it turned out, as in that moment one of the Kraken's tentacles wrapped around the mast he was standing at and broke it as if it was a match. Will Turner jumped as far as he could and landed in the water next to ship with a loud splash. He heard a loud crunching sound behind him, and turned, only to see the ship being crushed in half by two giant tentacles rapidly descending upon it.

And as the sounds of battle slowly died away, the Flying Dutchman sailed forward proudly, and Will Turner dove beneath a piece of a wooden wreckage, hoping they didn't notice. And as he did, he saw, not far away from him, as the dark figure of the water horse quickly turned and headed back for the ship, and he waited for a few seconds, before he followed her.

"I couldn't find him, captain. Either he managed to escape before he arrived here somehow, or his body is dead and at bottom of the ocean by now, in which case, your problem should be about solved, shouldn't it?" she asked the captain carefully. But Davy Jones had his brow furrowed in a rather scary expression of anger and concern when he turned towards her and the crew. "No, we cannot risk it. If the boy was here for the key, then it surely means Jack Sparrow knows where the chest is-uh. I'm sure he's heading there right now, and so we must do the same. Chart a course to Isla Cruces!" he shouted to his men. "Get me there first or there'll be the devil to pay." He ordered them angrily, and they left in haste, seeking to fulfill their captain's wishes. And as the ship turned it's course, Silver stood upon the railing, enjoying the breeze blowing from the ocean, and thinking just where was this journey going to take her next.


End file.
